Filling feeler for looms



May 2, 1939.

21 l I I Filed Feb. 1, 1937 E. W. BARRETT. ET AL FILLiNG FEELER FOR LOOMS I I I s edv ,Tq ed d Patented May 2, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FILLING FEELER FOR LOOMS Application February 1, 1937, Serial No. 123,368

8 Claims.

This invention relates to side-slipping feelers employed in looms for the purpose of forestalling complete exhaustion of the working supply of weft or filling by either stopping the loom, or, in the case of automatic weft replenishing looms, initiating the process of mechanically replacing the depleted supply of filling by a fresh supply.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved feeler certain and harmless in its action on the filling, however delicate the latter may be, cheap and simple in con struction, having long life, and simple and easy to install and keep in proper working relation.

To this end, the feeler consists in a single moving element, together with its usual spring, this element comprising the feeler member which is yieldingly urged rearward and at its frontward end is hooked around a post or abutment on the feeler base, and which has a rearward filling-engaging surface or tip which is roughened to cling to the filling but adapted to slip on the bared bobbin, which tip is offset with respect to the post or abutment so that the line of thrust of the filling or bobbin against the tip is out of line with the support afforded by the post or abutment to provide a turning force resulting in eventual side slipping, and a spring acting on the feeler in a direction such as to resist both the frontward movement and the side slipping or lateral swinging movement of the feeler member.

Other objects of the invention, and the manner of their attainment, are as will be made plain hereinafter.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the improved feeler.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a plan View of the feeler with the cover removed.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the parts of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a rear elevation, with the feeler tip broken off.

Fig. 6 is a view, corresponding to Fig. 5, of a modification.

Fig. 7 is a partial section on line 1-1 of Fig. 3.

The feeler member I is of general hook-shape, equipped at its rearward end with a filling-em gaging tip 3 of any suitable desired type, herein comprising an L-shaped portion of increased round section having its longer leg partly reduced in diameter for an intermediate portion of its length and surrounded by a coil spring 5 immovably fixed thereon, as by the tightness of its grip, or by being welded or soldered thereto along its frontward surface at I, the rearward portions of ing out of line with such center. Swinging movethe coils thus providing serrations to engage the filling; the extremity of the other leg is bored out to receive the rearward end of the feeler member I, and thereafter swaged or sweated into permanent engagement with the latter. The other ,5 end of feeler member I is bent reversely into parallel with the main extent of the feeler member, so as to form a hook having a semi-circular bend 9 of substantial proportions, with a material length of the extremity extending rearward beyond the bend. The feeler member I is preferably and conveniently made from a length of heavy wire, of round section. Thus the degree of offset can be varied by increasing or reducing the bend indicated at I3.

The feeler base I5, having the outline shown, is provided with a pad Il, integral or applied, of generally rectangular or shield-like shape, and a similarly shaped plate IS, the plate I9 being superposed on the pad H in register therewith and Q maintained in spaced relation by a screw 2I and an interposed spacer 23. This latter comprises a semi-circular abutment of a transverse width and radius such as will fit accurately but freely within the bend 9 of the hook-shaped frontward end of feeler member I, its thickness being slightly in excess of the diameter of the wire from which the feeler member I is made, so as to provide for free sliding movement of the bend 9.

A light expanding coil spring 25 is fitted loosely around the feeler member, its frontward end bearing against a washer 21 loose on the shank of the feeler member and supported by the righthand rear corners of pad I1 and plate I9; the other end of the spring thrusts against a collar 29 afiixed to the shank of the feeler member, as by brazing or pinning. The action of this spring 25 not only urges the feeler member yieldingly rearward, thus tending to hold the concave side of the feelers bend 9 in engagement with the 40 conforming convex surface of the abutment formed by spacer 23, but also tends to swing the feeler counterclockwise about the common center of curvature of the bend 9 and the spacer 23, be-

ment of the feeler I in such counterclockwise direction is limited by a stop 3| provided by the lef -hand vertical wall of a notch 33 formed in the rearward end of the cover 35 of the feeler. A narrow transverse raised rib 31 at the rearward extremity of the base I5 engages between the lateral extremities of notch 33, to hold the cover and base in register at this point, the rib being low and fiat-topped to form a bearing for the protruding feeler member extending out 55 through the notch. In certain instances, this rim may be carried all the way around the base, to merge with the pad [1.

Through a hole 39 in the right-hand side wall of the cover extends the wire or rod 4| comprising the transmitter of the usual latchcontrolling or knock-off devices employed to stop the loom or initiate the mechanical replenishment of the working filling-supply, such knockoff or control devices being of any suitable or preferred known type, and being so well known as not needed to be shown herein, since they form no part of the present invention.

In operation, the feeler is mounted to present the filling-engaging tip 3 to the shuttle contents, either with the feeler base in horizontal position and with the cover either up or down, or in vertical relation to enter the shuttle from above or below, the general direction of extent of the main straight portion of feeler member I being at a slightly oblique angle to the axis of thb bobbin, about as shown in Fig. 1. So long as suflicient filling remains to prevent side slipping, the feeler member slides idly forward under the blow of the filling-mass 6, with its bend moving away from spacer 23 and always between pad IT and plate IS, without imparting appreciable endwise movement to transmitter 4|. When, however, insufficient filling remains to prevent the tip 3 from skidding on the bobbin, the bend 9 swings on spacer 23 as a pivot, instead of the feeler moving frontwardly, or before it makes such movement, thereby thrusting the transmitter 4| endwise to the right to transmit an impulse resulting in knocking off the loom or replenishing the filling.

It is to be noted that the arrangement of parts at the frontward end of feeler member I provides a combined guide, stop, and pivot for the feeler member. The engagement of the lateral ends of spacer 23 with the portions of the feeler member I which at all times extend rearward at each side of the bend 9 guides the feeler laterally, while the pad I! and plate I 9 guide the feeler member in a vertical sense through engagement with these portions and with the bent portion as well. The spacer 23 stops the rearward movement of the feeler, and also serves as the feelers pivot in its side slipping movement. The support thus afforded the feeler member is so ample that the device will operate without the cover and rear guide slot formed in part thereby, if a suitable stop 43 and transmitter-guide hole 45 be provided on the feeler base l5, as shown in Fig. 6.

The base I5 is preferably provided with a pad 41 on its under surface having a lip 49 adjacent the tapped hole for the screw which mounts the feeler on its stand, the lip engaging an edge of the stand and insuring the feeler member being presented at the desired angle to the filling.

While we have illustrated and described certain forms in which the invention may be embodied, we are aware that many modifications may be made therein by any person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, we do not wish to be limited to the particular forms shown, or to the details of construction thereof, but

What we do claim is:

1. A filling-feeler device for looms having, in combination, a feeler base, a side-slipping feeler member mounted to slide and swing directly on such base and having a filling-engaging rearward end and its other end bent reversely to form a hook at the frontward end, a flat surface on the base on which the portion of the feeler member at and adjacent the hook rests and slides, a second flat surface on the base overlying the portion of the feeler member just described, an abutment interposed between these two surfaces occupying the bend of the hook, a spring surrounding the feeler member between the hook and the filling-engaging end, supported by edges of the said flat surfaces and urging the feeler member rearward.

2. A filling-feeler device for looms having, in combination, a side-slipping feeler member having one end adapted for frictional engagement with the filling and its other end bent reversely to form a U-shaped hook, a fixed abutment occupying the hook at all times during the working of the feeler and serving as guide, stop, and fulcrum for the feeler member in its movements, additional stop means determining the scope of sidewise movement of the feeler member, engaging the latter between the hook and the fillingengaging end, and a spring surrounding the feeler member between the hook and the filling-engaging end, urging the feeler member against both stop devices.

3. A filling-feeler device for looms having, in combination, a side-slipping feeler member having one end "offset to produce side-slip and) adapted for frictional engagement with the filling and its other end bent reversely to form a U- shaped hook, a fixed abutment occupying the hook and thus surrounded on three sides by and having guiding engagement with surfaces of the reversely bent end at all times during the working of the feeler, and of itself alone serving as guide, stop, and fulcrum for the feeler member in its movements, and a spring surrounding the feeler member between the hook and its fillingengaging end, urging the feeler rearwardly.

4. A filling-feeler for looms having, in combination, a side-slipping feeler member engaging the filling at its rearward end and having its other end bent reversely into parallel with the intermediate portion of its length to form a U- shaped rearwardly facing hook, a fixed abutment engaging the parallel interior sides of the U to guide the forward end of the feeler member at all times and engaging the bend of the U during side-slipping movement of the feeler member and also while the feeler is in normal presentation position, and a spring surrounding the said intermediate portion of the feeler, pushing forwardly on the abutment and rearwardly on the feeler member.

5. A filling-feeler device for looms having, in combination, a feeler base, a side-slipping feeler member mounted to slide and swing directly on such base and having a filling-engaging rearward end offset to produce side-slip and its other extremity bent reversely to form a U-shaped hook at the frontward end, an abutment on the feeler base embraced and engaged at all times by such hook, and an expanding spring coiled around the feeler member between the said rearward end and the abutment and supported by the latter in exerting a rearwardly acting force on the feeler member.

6. A filling-feeler for looms having, in combina tion, a side-slipping feeler member engaging the filling at its rearward end and having a rearwardly-facing open-ended recess at its frontward end, a fixed abutment ever occupying the recess and surrounded on three sides by the feeler member to act of itself alone as guide for the feeler member during non-detecting movement of such member, stop for the rearward recovering movement of the feeler member, and fulcrum for the feeler member during side-slipping, and a spring held under tension by parts in connection with the abutment and pushing rearwardly on the feeler member at a point between such abutment and the filling-engaging rearward end,

'7. A filling-feeler for looms having, in combination, a side-slipping feeler member having a toothed filling-engaging tip at its rearward end and a hook at its frontward end, a fixed abutment reaching across and filling the bend of the hook and embraced by the hook and in continuous contact with the inside of the hook throughout the working of the feeler, and a spring acting its frontward end, a fixed abutment around which the hook remains hooked and with which the hook maintains contact to determine the path of the front end of the feeler member when the feeler is pushed forward by the filling as well as when in normal rearward position, and a spring acting rearwardly on the feeler member between the abutment and the filling-engaging tip.

EDWIN W. BARRETT.

PERCY HARGREAVES. 

